Newhart?

Re: Newhart?

I will buy the seaons that are released on dvd. As for the ones that they don't put out I will tape and watch them on vhs. I am currently taping Night Court on Tvland because I have no idea if they will put out any more seasons. Night Court is one of my favorite shows and I want to take this oportunity to own them on tape just in case they don't come out on dvd. I will eventually get around to doing this with other shows that don't get released. I would do more now but shows are still being released at such a pace that barely have time to watch them. I expect this to slow down in the next 2 or 3 years for the shows that I want.

But I don't regret for a minute buying season 1 of Night Court, because I can watch it on dvd and then watch the remaining seasons on vhs if they are not released on dvd.

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Everyone has their own motivations but I simply don't understand why anyone would refuse to buy a TV show on DVD simply because not all the seasons came out. That's ridiculous. You're going to deprive yourself of great entertainment because you're stubborn ? How about enjoying what does come out and being grateful for it if it's done properly.

Not buying sets just makes it harder to get more released. Don't complain when a series is abandoned if you haven't bothered to support it. You're only shooting yourself in the foot. I will love any and all properly-done Newhart releases and be thrilled to get them. Am I supposed to boycott this show simply because TBNS didn't finish it's run ?

To those of you who make such odd decisions let me ask you a question.
Do you have a brother named Darryl ? And another brother named Darryl ?

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I didn't start watching Newhart until about season 3 so this 1st season release is great news to me. I don't buy too much TV on DVD but I've been waiting for this one. Count me in.

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Likewise, the first season is my least favorite but I intend to buy it anyway, as it's the only chance of getting to the good stuff.

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I despise 'best-of' sets, fans are never happy with the selections anyway, seasons is the way to go no matter what. In fact, I prefer complete series releases - all seasons in one go. Especially for shows with relatively short lives, from one to six seasons, say. I believe most fans want it all 'now', so they're sure it'll all be out. Just start saving, when you know something's coming.

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Well, again, I'm not going to buy it until the all the seasons are out.

But, there are a couple of interesting things about Season 1 of Newhart.

The show did radically change after the first season. Year one was shot on video tape and would move to film in front of a live audience. Season 1 looks different from the rest of the series because of this.

Most of the oddballs that populated Newhart were introduced in Season 2. Peter Scolari's "Michael" did join in Season 1 but Julia Duffy's "Stephanie" did not appear until Season 2 and Scolari's Michael morphed into his goofy puppy persona upon her arrival. The Stephanie/Michael storyline drove the series as a second plot beginning in Season 2.

Larry, Darryl, & Darryl made their first appearance in Season 1 as "Anything for a buck" but did not start making weekly appearance's together until Season 2.

There were some flashes in Season 1 as to what Newhart would be later and worth looking into just to see where the season started, vs. the Kafka-esqe edge in would take on in Season 2 and throughout the series run.

Some cast members would leave after Season 1 and the ones that remained turned into the hilarious needlers that would befuddle Bob Newhart's Dick Loudon during the run. Check out Chester and Jim, who went from wise town leaders to bickering and clueless bumblers who referred to Dick Loudon as a "hothead."

Newhart was brilliant in the same tradition of Green Acres with everyone in on the joke but the main character.

And here is the problem, if Season 1 doesn't perform to FOX's sales expectations, there won't be any more. The true genius of Newhart came in the seasons after the first. FOX's history of releasing shows, indicates that the greatest episode of the series, the finale, will never see the light of day.

I really want this show out and available to all. It's very funny, and got better with each year ending with what is called the "best series finale" ever.

FOX has burned me too badly in the past, specifically with Hill Street Blues, so, as much as I want Newhart....I'm not buying it. It's all or nothing for me and Newhart is the perfect example of why.

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I totally understand your position and I really do hope I won't be buying into a lost cause.

But if everyone follows your line of thinking then there really is no hope.

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You're right Steve, there wouldn't. I love to know what the "magic number" FOX needs to have.

I really do want Newhart to do well...well enough that everything will come out.

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Sadly, I suspect the "magic number" for Newhart will be greater than than whatever numbers The Bob Newhart Show had.

If Bob's show doesn't do much better than Bob's other show, this series may never be complete.

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wouldn't it have been logical to release TBNS s5 alongside Newhart s1 on the same day, and maybe offer an instant $5 rebate to those buying both sets at the same time? I prefer Newhart to TBNS, but I think the way TBNS has been treated on DVD was enough for most people to not even bother with Newhart because they know what's coming up. I mean, could TBNS have been losing that much money on DVD? I never bought the sets (not a fan of the original show) but I heard the video quality was terrible, and they were on double sided discs, etc... So it's hardly like they were putting a Simpsons type of investment in the sets, so what about the sales were so poor that they just couldn't see fit to doing another season? I think a season 5 release of TBNS would make the fans a little more optimistic about getting Newhart.

Same applies if Fox decides to release Rhoda... if you release Rhoda, you should release MTM s5 on the same day

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Huge "Newhart" fan here! I used to watch the show religiously when it was on Nick at Nite. I remember I was so obsessed, I printed out the show's episode guide so I could keep track of which episodes were coming up and which ones I had already seen.

Obviously, I've been waiting for it to come out on DVD, but I was starting to give up hope that it would ever happen. I actually couldn't believe my eyes when I got the first e-mail alert from the site saying that there was news about the show finally being released.

My two favorite characters, Stephanie and Michael, weren't part of the main cast in season 1 -- so obviously I'm hoping that Fox continues on with the release of other seasons. I agree with those of you who've said that the show got better with each passing year.

Does anyone know when we might be hearing about possible bonus features/audio commentary on season 1?

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Sitcoms Online - Newhart - The Complete First Season DVD Review

There do not appear to be cuts. That means I'll be buying it.

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Maybe yes, maybe no. The 80s was when filmed shows started to be edited on video tape. I don't know if earlier Newhart seasons were edited on film or not, but by the end of the series they were editing on video, so we'll be stuck with 1980s-quality film-to-tape transfers at some point.

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Newhart switched to tape-based editing in the fall of 1986, so it's from season 5 onward that we should start to worry about picture quality.

Whether it gets that far is another matter. But I really want this show to succeed. Maybe they should have released it backwards.

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I missed it but on Sunday's "NBC Weekend Today", they reunited the cast of "Newhart". There were also nice reminisces for the late Tom Poston, Suzanne Pleshette, and Mary Frann.

msnbc.com Video Player

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Msnbc seems to have pulled the video already.

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I might have linked it wrong. Try this: msnbc.com Video Player.

If the video doesn't work, go under "TODAY" on the lower left side and then click on "Entertainment". Scroll down and click on the video "A look back at 'Newhart'".

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I purchased the First Season of NEWHART on it release date hoping that FOX would release the final two seasons of The Bob Newhart Show on DVD soon. I puschased all of those on the days they were released also.

I really don't like FOX starting what they can't finish, fans are still waiting for the remaining Mary Tyler Moore Show Seasons and I doubt we'd ever get Rhoda or Phylis at this point. FOX should let Shout Factory or someone handle Rhoda etc. FOX should finish out the bob newhart and mary tyler moore shows. It would help boost sales of previous seasons if all are out.

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Saw this at BJ's but there was no price to be found anywhere so it remained on the shelf.

Why retailers expect to sell merchandise with no marked price is perplexing to me.

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The stuff showing up at BJs should be pre-tagged . Although you should always mention this lack of tagging to the manager. They should have more of the scanners around the store so you can self check a product before taking up to the counter - like Target does.

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I haven't seen Newhart in years and was a big fan of the later seasons (especially the series finale), so I have this to rent next in my Netflix Queue, and I was wondering if anyone happened to rent it first through them. They don't list any "bonus features" on their page, so are they renting out just the episodes or it is a error on their part which they never corrected? Thanks.

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I'll be receiving Disc 2 in the mail from Netflix tomorrow, but I just wanted to say that even in the first season (the first eight episodes that I've watched so far) this series was even hilarious. I did read beforehand the review on Sitcoms Online, but is the first season truly unedited? Did you guys notice any edits from the original broadcasts while viewing the DVD? I’m thinking of purchasing The Complete First Season when I'm done renting it. As I tend not to buy seasons (or series) with edited episodes or replaced music, I thought I would double check. And will there be anything down the road that Fox may not want to pay? Thanks.

I should mention that Superstation WGN (now changed to WGN America) will be airing Newhart every Sunday at 8-9pm EST starting June 8th. They're showing the series in broadcast order.

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any news on the rest of Newhart?

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Also, what about the music edits on the season 1 DVD? Are there really a lot of them, like Chris Cook claims that there are?

One to watch out for is in the episode titled "No Tigers at the Circus". It originally had the Mister Ed theme in the scene where Dick watches a TV show. In reruns, it was changed to the theme from The Bob Newhart Show (1972). It's mentioned in the alternate versions section of the shows' IMDB page.

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The last time I contacted Fox about this and "The Bob Newhart Show" the reply was "They are not on the schedule". That was about a year ago. I would say with the supposed impending release of the complete "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" that there may be hope, but that release appears to be primarily the result of Oprah (and her viewers) pushing for it. Maybe if she could be convinced to have Bob on the show and gush over his output as she did with Mrs. Moore...

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Oprah's gushing has resulted in nothing tangible yet.

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exactly. No actual date or anything yet.

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I gave up waiting for Fox ages ago and have been acquiring season 2 onwards by "other means". This is a truly hilarious series that has not dated even slightly, and it is an utter travesty that the remaining seasons haven't been made available.

Yup its very funny from start to finish....but then so was Green Acres and where is THAT one??

I'd love to see Green Acres finished. I can't complain though, Petticoat Junction is even better and at least we're seeing that one get released.

I hope at least season 2 of Newhart makes it out. The episodes with Leslie as maid and their crazy nextdoor neighbor Kirk were the best of the series. It went downhill when those characters got replaced with Stephanie and Michael.